Toyota profit rise beats estimates, US sales outlook raised

Tuesday, 5 Aug 2014 | 2:21 AM ETReuters

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Adam Jeffery | CNBC

Toyota Motor posted a forecast-beating 4.4 percent rise in April-June operating profit and raised its U.S. vehicle sales target for the year to next March, boosted by strong sales of SUVs and pickup trucks in its biggest market.

For the year to March 2015, Toyota stuck with its full-year operating profit forecast of 2.3 trillion yen. That would be a record high, although just a 0.3 percent increase from a year earlier as the tailwind from a weaker yen that helped boost export profits runs out of steam.

A sales-tax hike in Japan in April dented demand for new cars and Toyota's April-June domestic sales dropped 9.6 percent year-on-year to 319,460 vehicles.

Toyota raised its full-year North America sales projection to 2.71 million vehicles from 2.62 million. In July, Toyota's total U.S. sales rose 12 percent, surpassing Ford to become the No.2 seller for the month.